The Telemachia is an
exciting and moving
novel of ancient
Greece written by
Michael Barnes Selvin:
The story of
Telemachus, the son of
Odysseus
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1200 BC: the Heraclides battle the Pelopides in a war
more devastating than the Trojan War, more significant
to the Known World than Alexander’s empire-building,
and more crucial to Telemachus than the return of his
father Odysseus ...
Telemachus, son of the hero Odysseus and Penelope,
struggles to preserve his marriage and return to his
hereditary throne on Ithaca. He musters the slyness of
his father and the sagacity of his mother as he
navigates the treacherous waters of the War of the
Families. Brewing since before the war in Troy, this
conflict pits the two greatest clans in ancient Greece:
the Pelopides and Heraclides. It is the last gasp of a
failing civilization. With remarkable parallels to today,
Telemachus fights for his life and his family.
Why do we read the ancient Greeks? When you read the Greeks, you will come to
appreciate what the Greeks thought and felt, so exquisitely wrought, and realize how much
akin they are to our own modern sentiments and emotions. The Greeks, like Tiresias,
foresuffered all, and they were there some three thousand years before us. Their religion
served as the foundation for our religions. Their philosophy and learning led the way for our
own educational institutions. Their art and creative curiosity opened the doors to our own
creative energy, as evidenced over the millennia by the innumerable literary and artistic
references to the Greeks. Politicians and officials today owe their systems of public policy to
the Greeks. In no small measure, today we owe our concept of governing, our celebrations,
our epistemology, our ability to perceive, our religious thoughts, and, yes, our warfare to the
Greeks. Today, you will find more relevance in reading the Greeks than you will find in
your morning paper.
Comments by readers and editors:
“The Telemachia is clearly highly polished, and the story quite well developed and carefully
constructed.”
“The organization of The Telemachia is rich, complex and brilliant.”
“What an absorbing and compelling story.”
"This is indeed a startlingly epic tale, ripe with originality and rendered with a highly adept ear for
language...beautifully written and exhaustively researched...close to the history and age from which
the material was born..."
“Antimenes, the gods, the story of Telemachus, and the battle for the Peloponnese are artfully
interwoven.”
“I couldn’t put it down and read late into the night.”
“Very interesting indeed, and I'm more fascinated than ever by how you came into possession of all
this Greek knowledge. The details are most impressive!”
“I savored every page of this very original epic account of Telemachus.”
Map of the Peloponnese and routes taken in
the War of the Families
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Odysseus meets his son after 19 years of
absence with Athene looking on
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